Thank you to all who have served.

To Be Determined

I wasn't sure whether to call this The Grass is Always Greener or Saying Goodbye to a Dream.

You decide.

Here's the thing. For as long as I can remember, I've gotten a terrific rush from writing - except not really. The rush comes from the beginning of the creative process, the better-than-drugs euphoria that accompanies a new story idea or a solution to a particularly thorny plot or motivation obstacle.

But like with any drug, the euphoria wears off. That's when creative lethargy settles in.

A similar scenario sets in when I'm anticipating large blocks of time to write. The anticipation is exhilarating. My enthusiasm knows no bounds and I can't wait to get started. Until I have the time. And then - the blahs set in. At this point, I'd clean rather than sit in front of the computer.

So what does this all mean? Well - either I'm a struggling writer, I'm lazy, or I'm a realist who is lowering her expectations. If the last seems confusing, consider this article in the Economist called Mild and Bitter: The Evolutionary Origin of Depression with a subtitle: Depression may be linked to how willing someone is to give up his goals.

Here's a brief excerpt:

Dr Nesse’s hypothesis is that, as pain stops you doing damaging physical things, so low mood stops you doing damaging mental ones—in particular, pursuing unreachable goals. Pursuing such goals is a waste of energy and resources. Therefore, he argues, there is likely to be an evolved mechanism that identifies certain goals as unattainable and inhibits their pursuit—and he believes that low mood is at least part of that mechanism.

So, does that mean that when I get the blahs each time I sit down to write, it's my subconscious telling me I'll never attain my goals and should go do something useful (like clean the toilet) instead?

Or am I just a procrastinator extraordinaire who always finds the grass in the other pasture greener so if I had to clean that toilet, I'd be lamenting the lost writing time?

What do you think? Not about me, but about the premise of the article.

My treasure chest closet

I went on a cleaning binge the other day, tackling a closet that was long overdue. The reward was far greater than a clean space though. In going through one bag, I found an absolute treasure trove of story ideas I'd been tucking away over the years.

I'm one of those writers who has NO shortage of ideas. Stories pop into my head when I'm doing the dishes, overhearing a conversation at the store, watching television - you name it. I've learned to jot them down quickly lest I forget them. The unorganized me usually throws them in a draw or tucks them in a pocket, but a few years back, when I was consolidating, I apparently stuffed all my scraps into a shopping sack. Hence my treasure trove.

Reading through my scraps was the best writing motivation there could be. Just a phrase here or there and the whole story popped back into my head. Reading through them was like an afternoon at the movies.

Alas, now I have to find/make the time to write them all... Oh how tempting it is to abandon my current project - the one I'm struggling through - for one of these shiny new ideas.

I shall resist. I shall resist. I shall...hmmmmm


To be continued....

Lazy days of August

I always have such big plans for all the things I'm going to get done in the summer. But then the heat and humidity set in and all I want to do is settle down with a pitcher of iced tea and my TBR pile.



So lets talk books. Has anyone read anything good lately?

Perseverance

A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit. - Richard Bach

I have this quote written on a scrap of paper tucked away in my dresser. I take it out when I need encouragement.

That brings me to the topic of this blog. I've read a lot lately about perseverance being key, about how good, hard, BICHOKing is the real secret to success both pre- and post-publication. I even found a website chock full of quotes on the benefits and almost moral righteousness of persevering.

It seems to me though that all this talk of persevering begs the issue. If you're in such a writing funk that you need to remind yourself to persevere, how do you do it? It's fine to virtuously tout the importance of perseverance, but when it comes right down to it, how do you actually make yourself persevere?

I imagine people have different tips and tricks they use. I'd love to hear some.

And it's time for the RITA and GH

Two of my favorite days of the year as a writer are the days the RITA and Golden Heart nominees are announced and the night of the ceremony. Tonight is the ceremony from the 2009 Romance Writers of America conference in Washington, DC.

So, without further ado -

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Contemporary Romance Series Manuscript
Second Chance for a Family by Kim Law

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Contemporary Romance Series: Suspense/Adventure
Romance or Retribution by Jamie Michele

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Young Adult Manuscript
Stage Fright by Shoshana Dawn Brown

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Historical Romance Manuscript
Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Regency Historical Romance Manuscript
An Inconvenient Marriage by Sara Ramsey

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Inspirational Manuscript
Kitty's Fire by Kelly Ann Riley

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Paranormal Romance Manuscript
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements Manuscript
Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure by Diane O'Brien Kelly

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Romantic Suspense Manuscript
Only Fear by Anne Marie Becker

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best ContemporarySingle Title Manuscript
Easy Money by Vivi Andrews


2009 RITA Winner for Best Contemporary Series Romance
A Mother's Wish by Karen Templeton

2009 RITA Winner for Best Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure
Danger Signals by Kathleen Creighton

2009 RITA Winner for Best Young Adult Romance
Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore

2009 RITA Winner for Best Historical Romance
The Edge of Impropriety by Pam Rosenthal

2009 RITA Winner for Best Regency Historical Romance
My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne

2009 RITA Winner for Best Inspirational Romance
Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren

2009 RITA Winner for Best Romance Novella
"The Fall of Rogue Gerard" by Stephanie Laurens in It Happened One Night

2009 RITA Winner for Best Paranormal Romance
Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready

2009 RITA Winner for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Tribute by Nora Roberts

2009 RITA Winner for Best Romantic Suspense
Take No Prisoners by Cindy Gerard

2009 RITA Winner for Best First Book
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

2009 RITA Winner for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance
Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson


Congratulations to all the winners but congratulations also to all the nominees. The competition was fierce.

RWA National Conference

The RWA National Conference is always inspiring, but this year I'm finding it even more inspiring because I'm not there.

A few years back - when I really wasn't writing much - I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't go back to National until I had something sold (preferable) or at least ready to sell (realistic).

That vow was nice on my wallet but it didn't do much for getting me back to writing. So, here I am, too many years later, still not attending.

But this week I signed up for Twitter and a funny thing happened. With all the tweets and blogs from DC, I feel like I know more about what's going on at this conference than I ever did at the ones I went to. Via twitter, I can be in lots of places at once! I've gone to lunch with all sorts or people I don't know - everything from Lebanese food to pizza to sandwiches. I've vicariously attended the huge literacy booksigning. I didn't buy any books there, but I did make a stop at Barnes and Noble today for Toni Blake's book because I read about it on someone's blog today. I've seen the Hot Sheet rehashed, heard about the Golden Network retreat's editor panel, and seen lots of pictures.
I also learned that following everyone else on their RWA journey is exhausting!

But there's one more thing - the best of all!

I've been writing. Turns out that all this vicarious conferencing is very inspirational! I got more words done today than I have in the past few months combined. And it's only the first day of conference!

Bring on Day 2!